I also wouldn’t be surprised but I wouldn’t be willing to take the chance of a child dying either.
I’m a fan of the all method. Call 911 while making enough of a scene to gather a crowd to assist. It’s unlikely I would do more than dent myself trying to break the window but if no one else was willing to I’d be in there swinging away. By making a scene you’re also protecting yourself from someone thinking you’re trying to break in to steal something. Those people are usually attempting stealth
Once again you are assuming the parent/car owner is going to be honest about what actually happened.
Which is going to be a more believable situation.
A. A careless parent left there kid unattended in deadly heat and a good Samaritan just happened by in just the nick of time and it was absolutely necessary to break the window to save the child’s life.
or
B. In a kidnapping attempt a kidnapper broke a window to gain access to a child in a locked car.
Want to google news stories to see which happens more often?
I couldn’t find a Google News reference to either of these scenarios, which is not really surprising, considering how unlikely both are. I also find it very unlikely that a kidnapper would call 911 and hang around with the kid in the car until the police showed up, which is of course exactly what a concerned passerby would do.
In this thread I’m also impressed with the fact many seem to think breaking a car window in the middle of a parking lot is a simple task.
I’m pretty proficient in breaking stuff including car windows and without a tool of some kind I’d be pretty hard pressed to break a car window in a timely manner.
Call 911 first, pound on the window to see if the baby wakes up and then go from there. Common sense would be to attempt to wake the kid up first, but anyone who is clueless enough to leave a baby alone in a hot car is going to be difficult to deal with, and I’d rather have the police quickly on the way.
This is a different situation, but when I was student, working night security at my university, I found a woman seemingly asleep in the driver’s seat of a car parked at the bookstore with the motor running. I knocked on the window and got no response. I shined my big ass flashlight directly on her eyes but nothing, so I called dispatch and the police were there within seconds.
The officer tried to open both doors with a jimmy, gave up and had gone back for this nightstick to break the window, when I checked again and he had actually gotten one of the doors unlocked, but hadn’t realized it.
When we pulled the lady out of the car, the remainder of the container of sleeping pills spilled out. She was barely breathing but the paramedics were able to save her, and the ambulance got there ASAP.
She had her husband’s ID in her hand. He was a manager at the bookstore, and apparently they were just separated. He was scheduled to open the store that morning. She was attempting to kill herself, and he would have been the person to find her. She had left her kids asleep at home.
I got a letter of commendation for saving her life, but of course you never hear if they got the kind of help she needed.
I live in Florida, where you can get in big trouble legally if you leave your dog in the car for too long, let alone a human. Mind you, it gets hot very quickly around here, especially when the temperatures are anywhere above 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
I’m not sure if it applies in this situation or would be considered, but my state has a Good Samaritan law to protect those who attempt to save someone in emergency situations-- say, you cracked someone’s ribs while doing CPR to save their life. They can’t sue you for damages because they were acting in good faith to help you.
Personally, I’d be more likely to get help (via 911 or the store) then try to get the kid out of the car ASAP.
Yes, I understand. I am saying that unless you break the window and then immediately run away in an attempt to evade the police, your behavior is not going to be similar to that of someone who is trying to kidnap a child. I find it highly unlikely that in such a situation the police, the courts, or anyone else would buy the story “A kidnapper smashed the window of my car to try to take my baby, and then stood around waiting for help to arrive!”
Well, before doing anything else, I’d knock on the window to see if the child responded.
Whether she did or not, would determine my next move. Awake, go into the store, call 911, get help. No response, more likely to break a window NOW.
I think this would actually be what most everyone would do first, (a freaking no brainer, in fact!), and yet, somehow it’s not even on the damn list of poll choices. Finding the poll so grievously flawed, I did not vote.
I’m surprised at how many people are worried about getting in trouble for taking reasonable action. Going from the info in the original post the situation is; you tried the doors their locked. If someone doesn’t own up it when I holler "whose car is this, there’s a baby in the back” I’m breaking the window and calling 911.
Reasonable damage to property to save a life is a defense to liability. And it’s a window. They cost $150 to replace. Not that I’d pay it. And if the owner does take me to court my defense would be “I acted reasonably”. If the owner wants to lie about my actions (suggesting I was trying to steal the car) I’d have witnesses, my call to the police and the endangered baby as a defense. Along with the fact that I don’t have any kind of police record. And to top it all off I’d bet my home owners insurance policy would have coverage for my defense should it come to that.
I can’t see letting a baby lie there and suffer and possibly die because I don’t want to be inconveniced by a potential petty lawsuit for breaking a window. People need to get their prorities straight.
Am I the only one here who has never tried to break a car window, and isn’t quite sure how to go about it? I don’t think you can do it just by pounding on it with your fists. I’m not real sure what stuff I could find in my car or purse that I could use to break a car window. I know how to dial 911, I know how to yell and make a scene to attract attention, and I know how to go into the store and ask for help. Breaking a car window, I’m not sure how to do.
What difference does it make if the baby responds or not? Just because it responds doesn’t mean it’s not suffering or not in immediate danger. The firts thing to do, no matter what, is to get the baby out of danger. It’s basically slow cooking in an oven. Fucking get it out of there.
Rock, jack handle, big stick, screwdriver or a set of keys punched right in the middle of the window where it’s weakest by design. In Hypothetical Land, with no pointy objects nearby on the ground, I’d dump out my (leather) purse, stick my hand in it to protect me from cuts and punch the window as hard as I could, ideally with my keyring in my fist and one key sticking out between my fingers. The more force you can get in a small striking area, the better.
And it’s absolutely true that adrenaline makes you stronger and (temporarily) resistant to pain. Use it.
